trail

Almost two years after my first hike on Mt. Tamalpais, Closet Granola and I headed out to relive the day when the Matt Davis trail kicked my butt. It was wildflower season then and it’s wildflower season again now, so if you’re looking for a gorgeous hike strewn with wildflowers and not too much sun, this is a great one to do NOW.

I won’t recap all the details about the hike since you can read about it here, except to say that it wasn’t nearly as bad this time around as it was last time. It just makes me realize how out of shape I was back then. Even with the little exercise from skiing and biking, this hike was fairly manageable.

Here’s what you can expect in terms of wildflowers if you go now…

And the icing on the cake…ocean views from Matt Davis and a little waterfall on Steep Ravine

Overall rating: Trailblazers

Rating system:

Heels: So easy you can hike it in heels

Flip-flops: Too long or hard to hike in heels, but flat flip-flops would work

Pumas: A nice stroll not much harder than walking in the city

Trailblazers: If you want to be nice to your feet on this hike, they’ll need some more serious protection and support.

Hiking boots: Pull out the ugly shoes and summon your closet granola. This hike is going to kick your ass.

The weather this weekend was just glorious…one of those days where you’re so happy to be living in California and not somewhere in the Northeast. Notice how quickly we attribute 80 degree weather in San Francisco in the middle of November to living in California rather than global warming. Even the hippies can’t complain when the weather is this spectacular.

To take advantage of this unprecedented state of affairs on our one and only hike in the month of November, Closet Granola surprised me by suggesting a hike in Point Reyes. Normally, I am arguing for a Point Reyes hike and he is adamantly opposed, but even he believes that the weather will be nice up there. And it is!

Bear Valley Trail

I’ve been bugging him to go on this trail since April, but he’s always found an excuse to go somewhere else. The Bear Valley to Arch Rock Trail is also a bike-and-hike, but we weren’t certain if my cheap commuter bike with its thin road tires could handle the trail. After hiking the entire trail, we’ve decided it would have been fine. A mountain bike would be better, but my little bike could have made it.

With bikers and hikers and strollers, the trail can get very crowded. And since this is a really easy hike with only 300 feet in elevation gain, it doesn’t scare off the weaklings (like myself). This may have been the most crowded hike I’ve been on. Luckily, the trail is very wide for passing people as well as engaging your significant other in forced conversations regarding where the relationship is going. You may be in the great outdoors, Closet Granola, but there’s nowhere to run! <<insert evil laugh>>

Meadow

But I digress…on the trail, we passed a meadow along the way, where we stopped to eat a little snack. We wanted to save the true picnic for when we reached our destination, Arch Rock. Incidentally, there are those dreaded toilets available if you need to make a little stop, but beware the horrendous odor. You’ve been warned.

The first leg of the hike is about 3.5 miles of a mostly shaded, sometimes muddy, but very well-kept trail. At the end of the bike trail, there’s a bike rack for parking your bike (so bring your lock if you plan to make this a bike-and-hike). After that, it’s less than a mile to the destination.

Coastal views

Arch Rock juts out into the ocean providing beautiful views of the coastline up and down from where we were. There are a few other rocks out at sea that make the views even more picturesque. Unfortunately, there were a lot of people also picnicking, but I’m pretty sure we had the best spread - bread, smoked salmon, four types of cheese, and turkey pepperoni. The scenery makes up for the lack of privacy.

At around 3:30, we decided to call it a day. Closet Granola was not going to be tricked into a night hike like Eagle Lake, so we packed up and headed back the way we came. A little over 9 miles total and four hours including picnic time, we were ready to head back to our city life.

Arch Rock

On our way back to the city, we stopped for dinner at Guaymas in Tiburon. We drank margaritas, snacked on tortillas and salsa, ate chile poblano and arroz con mariscos on the outdoor deck with a to-die-for view of the San Francisco skyline. It was the absolutely perfect ending to the perfect day.

Overall Rating: Heels for difficulty, flip-flops for length

Rating system:

Heels: So easy you can hike it in heels

Flip-flops: Too long or hard to hike in heels, but flat flip-flops would work

Pumas: A nice stroll not much harder than walking in the city

Trailblazers: If you want to be nice to your feet on this hike, they’ll need some more serious protection and support.

Hiking boots: Pull out the ugly shoes and summon your closet granola. This hike is going to kick your ass.

Tip #1: A city girl’s necessity equals a hiking diva’s luxury. I’ve learned to dread hikes where the guidebooks mention pit toilets at the trailhead. Luckily, the restrooms at Bear Valley are not only clean with functional toilets and running water, but the hand dryers are Xcelerator. Nice touch! (or actually no touch!)

Tip #2: For more serious hikers, bike out to the end of the Bear Valley Trail and hike some of the more strenuous trails rather than sitting on your butt at Arch Rock like we did. When I’m back in shape, we might have to try that.

Most weekends we’ll flee the city in search of better weather and greener pastures, but when the weather is finally warm in San Francisco (usually September or October), the best we can manage is a quickie in Marin to satisfy the outdoors bug before heading back and drinking sangria at an outdoor cafe.

The warm weather and lack of fog in San Francisco made it an ideal day for otherwise windy and chilly Marin Headlands. We drove out to Rodeo Beach and had a long lazy picnic with sandwiches and wine. The beach was not overly crowded and we hung out for a while chatting and digging holes in the sand.

Stairs

We took the Coastal Trail up to Hill 88. This was by far the most scenic part of the hike and also the most challenging. It’s basically a climb from sea level to the top of the cliff, with views of the beach, the coast and ocean, and the San Francisco skyline including Twin Peaks. We could see the fog start to roll in around Coit Tower. It’s definitely better to watch it roll in than to feel it roll in.

Hill 88

At the top of the ridge, we passed the junction with the Wolf Ridge Trail and continued to the top to see Hill 88. It’s easy to forget that this area used to be a military site, but along the trails, you’ll see some stark reminders. At the top of the hill, we took a break at the former radar station with its eerie abandoned buildings with graffiti.

Coit Tower

We then turned around and walked back to the junction with Wolf Ridge Trail. This trail then meets up with the Miwok Trail. These trails go around the backside of the ridge and is less scenic. We also came across a snake, but at least this time it was slithering away from me, not towards me (like in the Alamere Falls hike). The Miwok trail took us around the Rodeo Lagoon and back to the parking lot.

If I were to do this hike again, I would probably turn around at the top of Hill 88 and do an out-and-back hike just on the Coastal Trail. The rest of the hike wasn’t scenic enough for me.

Overall Rating: Flip-flops

Rating system:

Heels: So easy you can hike it in heels

Flip-flops: Too long or hard to hike in heels, but flat flip-flops would work

Pumas: A nice stroll not much harder than walking in the city

Trailblazers: If you want to be nice to your feet on this hike, they’ll need some more serious protection and support.

Hiking boots: Pull out the ugly shoes and summon your closet granola. This hike is going to kick your ass.

I was in the prime of my hiking career, having spent the last six months or so hiking all over California (or so I thought). Since we were up in Tahoe for Labor Day weekend, I was going to make the most of my time up there and get in as much hiking as we could. Perhaps then, Closet Granola’s need to be outdoors would be satiated and we could spend the next few weekends shopping.

What a great idea, I thought, to do two hikes in one day. After all, we were staying up in Truckee and a drive down to Emerald Bay took about an hour. Always one for efficiency and ambition, we decided to do the Eagle Lake Hike in Desolation Wilderness after the Emerald Bay hike. The entrance to the Eagle Lake trail is right across the street from the Vikingsholm entrance to the Emerald Bay hike. How incredibly efficient!

When we finished the Emerald Bay hike, Closet Granola was a bit skeptical of whether we could handle another hike. Sunset was in one hour and it was a new moon (which I learned was the opposite of a full moon), but I reasoned that it was only a 2.5 mile hike and there’s usually light long after the sun sets. He reluctantly consented, but said, “I’m stupid to go along with this, and you just don’t know any better.” I just waved off his conservative attitude and said, “We’ll be fine.” So off we went, with one headlamp, the remainder of our water from the Emerald Bay hike, two cameras, and two tripods.

Shortly after the beginning of the hike, we reached the Eagle Lake Trail Vista, where we stopped to take photos. We could see the sun setting over Emerald Bay and the colors were absolutely lovely over the lake and the trees. We also set up the tripod to take photos of the two of us…great picture spot but I won’t be sharing the personal photos!

After that, we tried to race to Eagle Lake as the sun set. There’s not much elevation gain, but the trail is very rocky. By the time we made it to Eagle Lake, there was just enough light left to make out the lake. Completely serene and desolate (there was one tent on the lake), we sat for five minutes to enjoy the peacefulness of the lake before heading back. We were on a mission to get out of there before we couldn’t see anymore, but we didn’t quite make it. After many near falls and broken ankles, I decided to use the headlamp. For some reason, Closet Granola could handle the darkness much better than I could. Even with the headlamp, it was still rather scary, creepy, and lonely out there (Desolation Wilderness is a very apt name). It was not an ideal trail or hike for a night hike, but that’s what happens when a City Girl convinces a Closet Granola to throw caution to the wind. Famous last words, “We’ll be fine.”

Overall Rating: Flip-flops during the day, Trailblazers at night

Rating system:

Heels: So easy you can hike it in heels

Flip-flops: Too long or hard to hike in heels, but flat flip-flops would work

Pumas: A nice stroll not much harder than walking in the city

Trailblazers: If you want to be nice to your feet on this hike, they’ll need some more serious protection and support.

Hiking boots: Pull out the ugly shoes and summon your closet granola. This hike is going to kick your ass.

Tip #1: If you plan on doing two hikes in one day, be sure to start the first one before lunchtime.

Tip #2: Headlamps can be a girl’s best friend on a night hike. They’re inexpensive, light, small, and will help prevent you from breaking your leg and not being able to wear heels for a long, long time.

What kind of a hike a man likes says a lot about him. Today I learned that there are two very different styles of hiking (I’m sure there are more, but for now, these two are startlingly apparent). Barely having recovered from the first day of hiking, we decided to try a more difficult, but shorter hike. The hike to Loch Leven Lakes had an elevation gain of roughly 1,200 feet over 4 miles, for a total out-and-back distance of 8 miles.

Mid Loch Leven Lake

The three lakes are named, Low, Mid and High Loch Leven, and they are approached in that order. Most of the elevation gain and mileage occurred before reaching Low Loch Leven Lake. It took a while to get there given the elevation gain, but once there, it was beautiful, but in a way that Lake Tahoe is not. Lake Tahoe, and especially Emerald Bay, is majestic and grand and overwhelming in its beauty. It’s like a beautiful woman who knows she’s hot. The Loch Leven Lakes with its granite-backed calm waters are subtler, more serene and peaceful, and more private. Even the most crowded of the Loch Leven Lakes, the Low and first one, had one tent and perhaps 15 people and 3 dogs hanging about while we ate our lunch on the rock overlooking the lake. Closet Granola would say that these lakes are more like the girl-next-door, which he has a thing for.

Speedo Man

After our picnic lunch, we headed towards Mid Loch Leven Lake, only about 0.5 miles away from the first one. This lake was prettier than the first and had fewer people. Unfortunately, it had one particular person we didn’t need to see…Speedo Man. Our comedy show of the day consisted of watching him jump off a rock, in his Speedos, while his friends tried to get the perfect picture of his less-than-acrobatic-moves. I’m not sure what was funnier, the way he looked or the fact that he wanted a picture of it. We tried to ignore him while we sat on our blanket and read our books. This lake has a lot of nooks and crannies that allow for a little privacy…not enough to do anything scandalous, but enough to feel like you’re not surrounded by people.

High Loch Leven Sign

Once our annoyance threshold had reached potentially-dangerous levels, we left and hiked the rest of the way to High Loch Leven Lake, about another 1 mile away. Each lake was prettier and less crowded than the previous and this one was no exception. There was not a single soul up there other than us and we took our time taking pictures of the granite rocks and trees and their reflections in the clear blue of the lake.

After the climax of the hike, it was 4 miles back out to the parking area and almost all downhill. Our poor knees and shins were begging for mercy by the time we got back.

High Loch Leven Lake

After the hike, I asked Closet Granola which hike he preferred, Emerald Bay or Loch Leven. Being the complete opposites that we are, I preferred Emerald Bay and he preferred Loch Leven. I loved the constant beauty of the Rubicon Trail and how at every turn, it was the same thing but you saw a different side to it. I didn’t like that you had to climb over so many rocks with just an ugly view of the highway and nothing pretty to look at or photograph. Not until the end, did you get to see something that made the hike worthwhile. I guess this is the difference between men and women…we prefer the constancy of one wonderful thing because we see it in different ways all the time, while men prefer the chase and the exciting climactic ending.

Overall rating: Pumas

Rating system:

Heels: So easy you can hike it in heels

Flip-flops: Too long or hard to hike in heels, but flat flip-flops would work

Pumas: A nice stroll not much harder than walking in the city

Trailblazers: If you want to be nice to your feet on this hike, they’ll need some more serious protection and support.

Hiking boots: Pull out the ugly shoes and summon your closet granola. This hike is going to kick your ass.

Tip #1: Don’t wear Speedos to jump into the lake. One, no one is hot enough to wear Speedos…not even Michael Phelps. And two, the laughter you hear is really at your expense.

Tip #2: This is a great hike for water pooches. There were many dogs swimming in the lake chasing after balls and many dogs hiking down the trail all wet…and yes, they looked less ridiculous than that man in a Speedo.